Candida albicans, a dimorphic, imperfect yeast, is a significant human pathogen that can cause superficial or invasive diseases (Staddon), and is the most common cause of candidiasis. C. albicans can be isolated from the oral cavity of approximately 40% of healthy, asymptomatic individuals. C. albicans is considered to be an opportunistic pathogen that primarily infects immunocompromised or immunosuppressed individuals (Cox, Reef, Shepherd).
Cutaneous candidiasis is usually treated with antifungal agents, such as nystatin, ciclopirox, and imidazole creams. For oral and vaginal candidiasis, the drug may be administered in the form of a topical cream, suspension or suppository. In all forms of skin and mucosal candidiasis, relapse after successful treatment is common.
For disseminated candidiasis, such as esophageal or bladder candidiasis, intravenous administration of an antifungal agent, such as amphotericin B is required. Drug side effects with this type of treatment are often severe, and the drugs have limited use because they cannot be administered over an extended time period. Since disseminated candidiasis is a common type of infection in the terminal stages of AIDS infection, the inability to treat the candidiasis successfully has become a widespread disease-management problem.
These problems point to a need for a more effective treatment for candidiasis, both for a disseminated infection which must be treated by intravenous treatment, or localized infection which can be treated topically. Ideally, the treatment method should be effective in reducing or eliminating fungal infection, and have few in any side effects.